Windows 8 on ARM won't run applications built for Intel systems, but Microsoft …

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This week, Windows president Steven Sinofsky reiterated what we already knew: Windows 8 PCs and tablets running on ARM chips won’t be able to load applications originally built for Intel-based computers. While this is no surprise, Microsoft did also say that applications using the Windows 8 Metro interface will be easily ported to ARM platforms and that Microsoft Office will likely be given the Metro treatment.

In a call with financial analysts Wednesday, Sinofsky was asked if Microsoft will use an emulator or application virtualization to bring current applications to Windows 8 on ARM chips.

But Sinofsky noted, “We've been very clear since the very first CES demos [in January] and forward that the ARM product won't run any x86 applications,” according to a transcript of the conversation. “What we announced yesterday for the first time was that when you write a Metro style application, all the tools are there to enable you in any of the languages that we support to automatically support ARM or x86.”

While Windows 8 on Intel platforms can run both Metro-style applications and traditional Windows apps, Sinofsky indicated that ARM will primarily run Metro apps. “It’s an Intel-based world and the AMD-based world plus the ARM-based world for Metro style apps,” he said.

Back in June, Ars reported that Windows for ARM wouldn't include an x86 emulator, and therefore would not be able to run existing Windows programs. "It is, however, the same operating system with the same APIs, meaning that it should be possible to recompile existing software and device drivers for ARM Windows with few difficulties."

It is hard to imagine any device that runs Windows but not Office, given that these are Microsoft’s two biggest cash cows. CEO Steve Ballmer said in the same call with analysts that Microsoft is working on a version of Office that will use the Metro interface.

“The brilliance of the Windows 8 strategy... is we get all of the applications that come from Windows on x86, as well as applications that have gone through the process of rethinking how they might work in a Windows 8 world,” Ballmer said. “Certainly you ought to expect that we are rethinking and working hard on what it would mean to do Office Metro style.”